Growing up as a kid I would hear this phrase quite often from my grandmother, “Tichakuonai mangwana kana Mwari a tendera” (We will see you tomorrow if the Lord wills) based off of James 4 v 13-16. It would scare me a little because it reminded me of death. It made tomorrow seem so far away as if it implied tomorrow might never come. Why would God not will for me to be alive tomorrow? It brought another thought – death is brought by God, He can cut you off any minute He feels like it.

Given the way this phrase has since faded from the millennial Christians, I guess I wasn’t the only one with these sentiments. Some Christians might even say it’s a sign of lack of faith, where you don’t believe that God will give you a chance to see the next morning. A sign that you don’t believe that God will bless your plans as He said He would in His Word. So why then, is this scripture in the Bible too? Was the writer too small-minded and did they lack a revelation that we, the modern church, the latter house that is greater than the former, have??

I have since changed my view of this though. In my opinion, I think the writer was right in this sense. It’s not so much about you saying it with your mouth whenever you talk about tomorrow, but also an attitude of the heart. It is to acknowledge the sovereignty of God, something we seem to have stripped God of.

Daddy’s Last Born

I saw this meme one time, it was funny yet true. It implied that the modern church is like God’s last born as He is now seemingly softer with us than He was with the older churches.  First born children are more reverent with their parents and they treat them with respect because of the discipline they would have gone through. I believe it is so with parents, to be stricter with their first born as it is the foundation of parenthood. This first child will be an example for all who follow.

A good first born will teach others how to behave while last born kids are usually the ones who get away with everything. One thing that the spoilt last-born children have though, which is similar to the modern church, is a conviction in their minds that they have their parents wrapped around their finger.

I feel like we think God has gone soft, we can tell Him what to do. He is always WILLING to do what WE want, what we ask of Him, how we want it and when we want it; as if God will have to adjust His will to match with ours. If things do not go our way, if we do not have the miracle that we seeded so much money for, we throw a tantrum. Unlike David who asked God if he should pursue in the first place, we ask God to bless our pursuit. We include God in our plans, mainly for the blessing benefit, rather than ask God what His plan is, so that we can do what He wills.

If we were to ask the first born though, I am pretty sure he would tell us, “Easy little one, Dad does what He wants, it is Him who is letting you not the other way around” lol.

A Matter of Faith

Some people say if you add the statement, ‘if the Lord wills’, it is a sign that you don’t believe that God can do it for you. I would say it is not lack of faith to give room for the will of God to work against your plans and desire, it is actually faith. Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, cried in anguish, He told God exactly what He would desire, for the cup to pass Him, but all the same, He waived this desire and said YOUR WILL BE DONE.

If someone from this church age had heard Him pray like that, he would have rebuked- “Jesus, so you told God all that, but you still don’t believe God can come up with another solution for you not to go through this painful road? Where is your faith, brother?’

To acknowledge that God can have a will that is higher than your plans and desire, is faith. To present our prayers and supplication before God, and still give him the room to have the final say even when it is against the same thing that we have prayed for, is faith; the highest form of trust I can say. It is trusting that God will always do what is good, acceptable and perfect for me; for the world, even if it is the exact opposite of what I would want to see, because He is looking at this situation from a higher and more informed point of view than I am.

Reverence

One of the things we witness often these days on the pulpit, is a man of God making a proclamation that on a specific day, he will BRING DOWN the Holy Spirit to heal the sick, perform miracles etc. It would seem like the man of God has the power to have the Holy Spirit do whatever he would tell HIM, at any given time he wishes.

I know someone will say it’s just semantics, but reverence is in what you say as well. It is not the prophet who wills for the Spirit to heal the sick for him to command the Spirit to come down, it is rather, the Spirit who wills to heal the sick, so He commands a man of God to stand as a vessel. We did not choose God, He chose us. We did not love him, He loved us.

We do not command God, God does as HE wills. The Bible tells us all these amazing things God has done for us, but the truth is not everyone gets healed, not everyone is set free from their problems when they desire it. Paul had a thorn in his flesh, and he prayed for God to remove it, but God did not. It was His will not to, for reasons best known to Him, and Paul acknowledged Gods sovereignty in reverence.

God does what He wills, not what we want. As we get closer to Him, our plans end up aligning to His will, that is why we can pray, and it will be given to us. We need to acknowledge that it was WILL, that brought us here, and it is His Will that will sustain us. We do not come into this salvation arrangement that we never knew about, that we did not sacrifice for, and make the rules.

Is It ONLY About Death?

Although the verse talks about death, it does not only imply death. It is amazing how the modern church is so much more afraid of death than any church age before us. While other church ages ran towards death, because for them it meant to be with the Lord, we fight the spirit of death vigorously in our prayers on a regular. I am sure it’s because the message for our generation, unlike the other generations, is we can actually be happy and prosperous on this earth too not just heaven. (Story for another day.)

My point here is, when you make plans for tomorrow and say if the Lord wills, you are not ONLY saying if I make it to tomorrow. It’s also about your plans, you never know what tomorrow holds. You are not saying God will wish you any harm, you are acknowledging that He knows more about tomorrow than you do. He has a bigger picture of what tomorrow holds. Your plans might not even be valid, or worth it when tomorrow comes.

It does not however, mean we cannot plan our future, neither does it mean we cannot tell God our plans and desires. It just means, at the end of the day, you need to acknowledge that God is sovereign, He will do as He wills. We adjust ourselves to His will, knowing fully He will do what is best for us.

IF THE LORD WILLS is a statement that should not be said in despair, as if God is going to trash our plans. It should rather be said in hope, in excitement, knowing God might do the exact opposite of what we have desired and planned, it might even be death, but it will be good anyway, because HIS WILL IS GOOD, ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT.